Contents

Choosing your team

As fighting with only one Pokémon can be very difficult, you should use a team. Your team should be comprehensive, strong and well-trained, with all Pokémon at about the same level. They should be well balanced and able to counter almost any type. In order to be successful, you will want at least five Pokémon. Do not rush to catch five Pokémon, but when you are at the Pokémon League, you should have six Pokémon. You can complete your team on your own, with your own ideas, or use the suggestions shown below.

Once you get out of Petalburg City, you'll come to Route 104 which is a route divided into two halves, with the Petalburg Woods as a divider. First, you should go to the beach and fight all of the Trainers, to gain some valuable Experience Points. Once you've beaten them all, pick the Pecha and Oran Berries from the Berry trees you see.
Then, you may choose to capture a Marill if you started with Torchic for the Gym ahead.

Petalburg Woods isn't hard to navigate through, compared to other forests in the Pokémon games. Go eastward (there is a Potionhidden in the tall grass) and get out through the second exit. Pick up the Poké Ball and come back to the forest. Now head westward and take the Parlyz Heal.

Eventually, you will see a man getting attacked by someone who is up to no good. You will have to rescue the man by defeating the guy attacking him. Once defeated, the Team Aqua grunt will run away, and the man will thank you gratefully and reward you with a Great Ball. Afterwards, you can use the north exit to reach the north side of Route 104. You might want to catch a Shroomish here, especially if your starter was Torchic. The firstGym Leader you will face is a Rock-type specialist. Shroomish evolves into the powerful Grass/Fighting-type Pokémon Breloom at Level 23, so you really should consider it for your team.

The rest of the trip is simple. After you get out of the Petalburg Woods, you'll find yourself in the northern part of Route 104. All it will take is a short walk to reach Rustboro City. The north end of Route 104 is similar to the southern end, except with more Trainers and items found here. You will also participate in your first double battle. Near the entrance is a Flower Shop. Talk to the girl in the back to receive the Wailmer Pail, which is a key item that allows you to water Berries in order to grow more than usual from their plants. The girl to the left will give you one random Berry each day.

Now that you are in Rustboro City, you can challenge the first Gym in this region. But first, there's a lot of exploring to do in this city. The largest building, which is the Devon Corporation building, is mostly inaccessible right now. Later, scientists can revive Root Fossils into Lileep and Claw Fossils into Anorith. In the house right next to the Gym, there is a guy who will trade you his Seedot (nicknamed Dots) for a Ralts. It's useful, if you want to complete your Pokédex; less useful until you get to the Move Relearner, and excellent as a Shiftry. The building that is located slightly west of the Pokémon Center belongs to the Cutter, who will give you HM01 (Cut) when you talk to him. It's important that you get the HM in order to continue with your adventure. However, you can't use it outside of battle until you get the Stone Badge. Slightly northeast of the Pokémon Center is the Trainers' School, where you can read about Status ailments on the blackboard. If you talk to the teacher, you will receive the Quick Claw which occasionally allows a Pokémon to attack first during a turn in battle. Also, you can find Scott inside the building around the lower-left corner, who tells you that he is searching for talented Trainers.

Rustboro Gym

Rustboro Gym

You are now free to take your first and easiest Gym challenge! If you have Treecko or Mudkip it should be a breeze to defeat the Rock-type Pokémon here, and Marill, Lotad/Lombre, and Shroomish can help you if you chose Torchic. Be aware that the highest-leveled Pokémon here is Level 15 and can be dangerous. You will want plenty of Potions, and having your team trained to Level 15 or higher is highly recommended. If you're ready, enter the Gym.

You can avoid the Trainers if you wish, but they're easy to defeat if you trained enough, and a few extra Exp. Points never hurt anyone. Be warned— from here on out, there will be an actual puzzle in every Gym, and more Trainers.

Roxanne's two identical Geodude shouldn't give you a problem, although they can annoy you by boosting their already high Defense with Defense Curl. Rock Throw and Rock Tomb can hit Treecko hard, due to its weak Defense. One hit with the move Absorb or Water Gun will take Geodude out. Nosepass will be a threat— it knows Block to prevent you from switching out your Pokémon, Tackle and Rock Tomb to attack, and Harden to raise its incredibly high Defense. It is also holding an Oran Berry, so it can heal itself. Once you defeat Roxanne, you will receive the Stone Badge which will help promote growth in the Attack stat of your Pokémon and also allow you to use the HM01 (Cut) outside of battle. She will also give you TM39 (Rock Tomb).

After receiving your Stone Badge and walking out of the Gym, you will see another Aqua Grunt, this time coming out of the Devon Corporation building. He will run off to Route 116, so use the nearby east exit to head there. The north exit leads to Route 115, but there is no use going there right now.

Now on Route 116, head east and you will eventually find the entrance to the Rusturf Tunnel is. Along the way you can go for the Berries at the top of the hill, with a few Trainers including a few potential Double Battles. You will need Cut to get to the Berries. Fighting all of the Trainers is recommended— training is valuable.

When you reach the cave entrance, if you communicate with the man by the house, you will learn that the tunnel was originally planned to connect Rustboro City to Verdanturf Town. However, the project was canceled due to the fact that the construction equipment was disturbing the wild Pokémon that live in the tunnel. Enter the cave.

The Aqua Grunt you encountered before has fled into the Rusturf Tunnel and will disturb the wild Pokémon unless if he is stopped. You will also meet Mr. Briney, a former sailor and owner of the house you passed earlier on Route 104's south side. His precious Wingull, Peeko, has been stolen by the Aqua Grunt. Once you defeat the grunt, he will give back the stolen Devon Goods and run off. Mr. Briney will then show up, happy to have his Peeko back, and will leave telling you that if you need help you can visit him in his cottage on Route 104. Return to Rustboro City.